First Balsam pull

My first Himalayan Balsam pull of the year with Stroud Valleys Project today. Headed over to the Frome at Eastington to meet up with Britta, who is standing in for Ruth for a few weeks.

I’ve not done this section before, but our team has in the last two years and the results are really encouraging. The first 100m or so was pretty clear. A few plants here and there, but apparently was armfuls last year. This gives some encouragement, as this is a laborious task to do every year.

I teamed up with David for the first part of the morning and we got rid of small patches in various places. The plants are still mostly small, so not so easy to spot, especially among the nettles.

There’s also giant hogweed on the site, so we gave that a wide berth. This is another constant problem along the Frome.

I left at lunchtime because I had an early afternoon call with Charlotte from the Water Watch Collective. They are launching a new hub on Friday which will help to co-ordinate a lot of citizen science being done on the waterways of Gloucestershire. This could be very helpful and connect to conversations we’ve been having in Dursley about setting up an interest group for the River Cam.

In the evening, we held the regular Dursley Green Drinks – the two year anniversary since the first one in 2023. A smaller group than usual, but could be because of half term. But new faces again joining us for the first time, so the network is still proving valuable in the community.